Folks,

My wife's bright orange '09 Fit was rear-ended in traffic yesterday, on a local street. It was in traffic, and the damage appears relatively minor. Nobody was hurt.

It looks like two holes in the rear bumper, one of the holes is hexagonal, about the size of the head of a bolt. She had no problems driving the car away.

We've started the insurance claims process. Being rear-ended, the adjuster said it's pretty cut and dried that the other person is at fault.

So my question -- is there anything else we should worry about except the rear bumper?

Thanks.

 

The impact-bar underneath the bumper cover is probably damaged.

Assuming it wasn't hit hard enough to change the alignment of the rear hatch and passenger doors it should be OK otherwise.

You'll have to rely on the expertise of your body shop, but it sounds pretty minor.

 

go to a trusted body shop or get a few quotes if you don't have one yet. avoid the dealer for this stuff obviously.

sounds really minor, i know it's upsetting that it's a new(er) car, but you'll be ok.

 

Take it to a good body shop re points made above. Rear ended Fit's have been on the forum and surprisingly some get totaled. If the hatch was spared you're most likely looking at minor repairs.

 

We appreciate the quick responses.

My instinct is to just let our insurance (Progressive) handle it, since the other person is at fault.

If their commercials are to be believed, we shouldn't have to do anything else (are we crazy to trust Progressive?)

but I do at least want enough info to "supervise," e.g. to see if the rear impact bar needs repair/replacement.

(Yup, the only damage was to the bumper. The other car was low enough that there was no other contact between the cars.)

 

Once repairs are started if the shop finds any additional damage all they have to do is call the insurance company. Contrary to what most people spew the insurance company is not out to screw you.

 

If their insurance is covering it, why wouldn't you go to a dealership for quotes at least? I'd want a Honda dealership making my repairs if it was on someone else's dollar.

 

Actually if you are not footing the bill, a Honda dealer may be the best place to take your vehile. We had an accident, and our dealer did an excellent job. All Honda parts too...with a life-time warranty on paint work. I don't really understand why you would not want a Honda dealer to fix your car.

 

most insurance plans won't pay for oem parts

 

I'm not too sure about that. Who's parts do you presume they pay for?

 

Most insurance companies I know of insist on OEM parts since they have to warranty it. Which is also why relatively minor damage costs so much to repair.

 

I retired from being in the auto insurance claims business for 25 years. Do not make the mistake of thinking the "dealership" will give you the best repair job. Not to say that a particular dealership can't be the best but in my 25 years of experience the best body shops by far were independent shops that relied on body work only for their income and reputation.

 

Need to have friends in the body work world. If you have any other damage i.e. scuffs or rock chips in the front, you can have your friends pad the bill just a little to cover the other work. I bit more legit is to get dealership quote and collect settlement check then use at a more reasonable independent shop. Might even have something left. I too was rear ended and I also have an orange fit. My buddies at the shop said it was the easiest color they have ever blended with. Make sure you get a rental car off them too. You have the leverage here.

 

I have always dealt with the other person insurance company, it saves me having to wait to get paid for the deductible from my insurance.

 

We had our Altima repaired by Progressive. Insanely Easy process. They did take care of everything and Kept me updated.

Incorrect as others have stated. with a car with low mileage, most body shops can't get anything other than OEM. There's little aftermarket for things like body panels so OEM is likely the only way to go. Our Altima (with 12K on the odo) was repaired with all OEM parts - The body shop got them all from the local dealer I had the vehicle serviced at - know the Service Manager/Owner of the dealership.

OP, Talk to the Body shop and insist on OEM parts. Also mention this to progressive so you know that everyone is on the same page. Progressive said for us that due to the lower mileage, they insisted only on OEM.

It all comes down to this; Let the body shop & Progressive know your expectations, and then let them take care of it from there.

~SB

 

Anything short of this, you should be fine. I get my car back this week, and I can't wait...

 

wait a second, I live in Kennesaw, my birthday is in January, and my Fit was rear-ended at Dave and Busters last month ($650 plus rental car courtesy of State Farm). dooo dee doo dooo....

ok it was a lame nudge from some drunk jerk in the middle of the day but still: